California's Last Call Bill Would Push Closing Time To 4 A.M.

LOS ANGELES, CA — California could party harder, according to state legislators looking to pass a bill extending bar hours statewide. The state Senate Thursday approved a controversial bill that would allow bars and clubs to stay open and serve alcohol until 4 a.m.

Senate Bill 384, which now awaits Assembly approval, was written in the wake of the Ghost Ship tragedy where dozens were killed in a fire last year at an underground club. Supporters of the law believe it will eliminate the need for underground clubs because promoters can book acts throughout the night at regulated venues, catering to the clubgoers who want to stay out till the sun comes up. They also contend extended club hours is a boon to culture and economy alike. Critics worry that pushing back the last call would lead to increased alcohol abuse, driving under the influence and disruption to surrounding neighborhoods.

In denouncing the bill, Patrick R. Krill, a policy advisor for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, predicted an uptick in alcohol related deaths.

“In my work with the legal profession and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, I am regularly reminded that alcohol remains our most pervasive and deadliest drug,” he wrote in an guest editorial for The Sacramento Bee. “It is involved in more homicides than all other drugs combined, and is especially common in sexual assault and intimate-partner violence. It kills 88,000 people a year in the United States – making it the fourth-leading cause of preventable death – and is behind one-third of auto fatalities. It costs our country a quarter of a trillion dollars per year in medical and public safety expenses, and lost productivity.”

However, several cities famed for the nightlife already allow clubs to serve alcohol after 2 a.m. including Las Vegas and New York, counter the bill’s supporters.

“California is a diverse state, with cities and neighborhoods that have different needs when it comes to nightlife,” the bill’s author Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said in a written statement. “By granting local control to our cities to extend their late night hours, we can support areas that benefit economically and culturally from a strong nightlife presence, while ensuring that other cities and neighborhoods retain their current rules.”

The bill is supported by the California Restaurant Association, California Music & Culture Association, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

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